North Carolina hospitality

I just spent a week at A Show of Hands, the 2016 International Calligraphy Conference, and I had one of the most fun calligraphy experiences ever.

This was my first time in North Carolina, and the town of Asheville was just so beautiful and green. I got an AirBnB off-campus with five other calligraphy friends, and we had the best time hanging out, attending classes, and learning in a wonderful atmosphere. The conference took place on the campus of Warren Wilson College which had beautiful grounds, with blooming flowers in the midst of summer.

I signed up for two classes at A Show of Hands, and the first half was with Christopher Haanes, learning the beautiful variation of Foundational Hand. Christopher has such a keen eye and is always ready to give you very spot-on and constructive feedback. We also did tai-chi right before class which was fun and got our calligraphy muscles warmed up!

Christopher Haanes showing us his work

Christopher Haanes beautiful work. So inspiring!

My second class was “A Flurry of Flourishes” with the wonderful Pat Blair. I took a two-day Copperplate workshop from Pat back in 2013 and enjoyed it so much, I wanted to learn flourishing from her! It made me smile that she remembered me. She shared some beautiful exemplars and techniques with us, giving great feedback on design and good flourishing placement.

Quiet Hands demo. Shhhh… Carol DuBosch, Peter Thornton, and Carl Rohrs

One of my favorite experiences at A Show of Hands has got to be an event called Quiet Hands. All the teachers sat in a room and did demos, and all of us were not to speak. It was so wonderful to quietly observe them do their magic! At one point it was just SO quiet, even though we were all crowded together, elbow-to-elbow!

The “Show and Share” event

The last big event of the conference was called “Show and Share,” where we all gathered together in the dining hall. Each class had a table where all the students laid out their classwork. It was so wonderful to see everyone’s hard work in the past week, and I definitely took mental notes on whose classes I should be taking next time!

Last but not least, good times with my tribe. Until next time, friends! Hope you see you all again real soon.